DIAD Talks
Constructing Narratives and Mapping Practice: The use of 3D WEB Visualization technology in Support of Archaeological Interpretation
Date
2021-05-06 (HT calendar)
Presenters
Abstract
The diffusion of instruments and techniques for 3D recording archaeological evidence had a substantial impact on the interpretation process undertaken by archaeologists and cultural heritage practitioners working in the field.
The opportunity to visually analyse in three dimensions complex dataset allowed identifying information before impossible to detect, providing scholars with the opportunity of experiencing new ways of engaging with archaeological materials.
In the last decade, the Lund University Digital Archaeology Lab- DARKLab, developed several field experiments to study the effects 3D visualisation technology is having in the process of knowledge production. By presenting different case studies, this presentation will review potentials, limits and future developments of 3D data as media for documenting, analysing and publishing archaeological interpretations.
Preserving intangible cultural heritage: insights from language documentation
Date
2021-05-27 (HT calendar)
Presenters
Niclas Burenhult, Nicole Kruspe & Jens Larsson
Abstract
In the past two decades, the field of language documentation has been committed to developing and applying sustainable principles and techniques for digital collection, management, and archiving of intangible cultural heritage, especially endangered languages data. Metadata and format standards have been implemented to ensure maximal accessibility, reusability, and longevity, for the benefit of current and future users. Furthermore, tools have been developed for integration of diverse data types, in particular time-based textual annotation of audiovisual recordings of dynamic, transient phenomena such as language use and music. The field is currently at a point where it can engage with previously unexploited data types, offering opportunities for novel interdisciplinary exchange and enrichment.
In this talk we will introduce the field of language documentation, its rationale and its conceptual and technological considerations. We will discuss its potential as both a contributor and recipient in an exchange between diverse disciplines concerned with cultural heritage documentation. We will do so with particular reference to our own experience of developing the Lund University resource Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage (RWAAI).
Show & Tell: Scientific representation, algorithmically generated visualizations, and evidence across epistemic cultures
Date
2021-10-28 (HT calendar)
Presenters
Abstract
How do scientists use new kinds of imagery to show what they know, and to convince diverse others to accept the evidence they offer? Images like brain scans and botanical illustrations are central to scientific practice. But today, accessible technologies can create lifelike algorithmically generated images – photo-like pictures made not with lenses but through the manipulation of digital data. These new kinds of images have introduced distinctive challenges to our ability to trust the things we can see with our own eyes.
Show & Tell is an in-depth ethnographic study of new digital methods for the documentation, analysis, and visualization of physical places with a focus on their movements between academic research, police and forensic work, and courtrooms. Show & Tell focuses on three interconnected research questions: How do scientific visualizations produce agreement across diverse epistemic cultures – what makes it possible for images be understood by and convince scientists from multiple disciplines as well as prosecutors and judges? How do old ways of seeing interact with new technologies when scientists use new kinds of imagery as evidence? How do specific formal and material qualities influence the credibility of new kinds of images as they move between science and the law? We investigate the ways that scientists and others use new kinds of imagery to show what they know, and how they go about the work of convincing others to know it themselves.